Chapters Chapter 1: The Tragic Quest
Tragedy in Ponyville
"Oh come on, It will be awesome!" shouted out Rainbow Dash as she flew in circles around Applejack's head.
"No way no how, I ain't gonna jump of no bridge, I ain't that thick in the skull" Replied applejack, slightly annoyed at Rainbow's insistent nature.
Dash flew down and landed in front of Applejack placing her hooves on Applejacks shoulders.
"Pleeeease, I promise It will be fun, cross my heart,hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye" Replied an obviously upset Dash as she mimed Pinkie's famous Pinkie promise.
"ohhhh, fine!" shouted Applejack
"But as soon as ah get out and dry off ah need to get back to the farm, Big Mac can't do it all on his lonesome"
Applejack brushed Dash's hooves off her shoulder and followed the Cyan pony to the bridge slightly down the road.
It seemed sturdy enough, being of a solid wood construction just above a steep drop into a river below.
There was barely a current and it seemed almost peaceful.
Applejack climbed to the rail and looked over the edge before taking a look back at Dash.
Dash who had obviously planned this, nudged Applejack just enough for her to fall off the edge , cursing out Dash's name.
Applejack fell straight down like a stone, hitting the water and sinking slightly before resurfacing, yelling out at Rainbow Dash, who was currently holding her side's as she laughed her tail off on the bridge.
"You jus wait till Ah get up there ya ..you...Argh!" Applejack yelled in an angry tone.
Dash turned her head as she heard hooves sprinting along the road towards her.
"Oh hey Twilig..." Dash started still laughing before being cut off by Twilights own words.
"Come with me now, Fluttershy is sick. and bring Applejack" Twilight barely breathed out before sprinting past them and towards Fluttershy's cottage.
Dash stood up in an instant, worried about her friend and flew down to the river, grabbing Applejack and lifting her up to the bridge."Get off me, ah can walk ya know.." Applejack muttered angrily
"Fluttershy is sick, Twilight just told me, come on we need to get to her place" Dash said before taking off, following Twilight with Applejack close behind.
Twilight and Applejack sprinted along the road while Dash flew overhead as fast as possible towards Fluttershy's cottage.
It came into view after the group ran up over a hill, still serene and beautiful as always, just like Fluttershy likes it.
Dash flew through the front door, knocking it open with her hooves before landing beside Fluttershy's bed.
Fluttershy cringed from the door being knocked open and hid under the blankets of her bed.
Rarity and Pinkie stood at the end of the bed with Doctor Hooves as he quietly talked with them, before being interrupted by Dash.
Applejack and Twilight ran through the door shortly after and came to a stop besides Rainbow Dash, all of the ponies looking morbid and worried.
The Doctor turned to Twilight and spoke up.
"I need to tell you girls something....and you won't like it"
"Fluttershy has Grey Night Fever, a very rare and...almost, incurable disease. It will ... kill...her if she doesn't get the ingredients necessary to create the cure." The Doctor said, holding his head slightly low.
"But..where do we find em?" Asked Applejack
"What are they?" Asked Twilight
"They can be found in the everfree forest.
I know it's not safe, but she needs them before...well before "you know what" happens.
The ingredients are on this list" The Doctor extended his hoof which held a small notebook with the first page containing a list with the names of 4 ingredients... Murtle Root, Silent Tree Sap, Three Green Turtle Flower's and Black Tree Bark Shavings.
Twilight quickly snatched the list and read over it carefully before looking up with determination in her eye's.
"We will find them, for Fluttershy" Twilight said as she leaned over and hugged her friend, still looking sick and tired laying in the bed.
"Yes, we shall find them for you dear" Rarity said doing the same.
"Yes indeedy doo" Pinkie said joining in the hug.
Dash and applejack quickly followed until the other five ponies surrounded Fluttershy giving her affectionate hugs.
"Thank you guys. I love you all" whispered Fluttershy between coughs.
"Now get some sleep, you need it Fluttershy" Mentioned the Doctor.
"I'll stay here with her and keep an eye on her until you girls get back. Im sorry to send you out there to get these ingredients, but we all know you would have gone either way" He chuckled
"It's fine Doctor, just please..take care of her" Twilight said quietly, still saddened by her friends sickness
The Doctor nodded before looking back to Fluttershy, who had fallen asleep.
She looked beautiful, even while sick as she breathed slowly in her sleep, he perfect pink mane resting on the bed covers.
The five ponies ran out of Fluttershy's house and sprinted towards the everfree forest's entrance, which slowly came into view as they got closer.
The sun was going down, but they needed to find the cure and time was running out.
"So, how are we to find these, ingredients?" asked Rarity running beside Twilight.
"Well, I happen to know what they look like, we just need to actually find them, and I know just the Zebra to help" Twilight responded
"Who Zecora?" Applejack said
"Well what "other" Zebra do you know who lives in the everfree" Dash said rolling her eyes
"Oh, ah, yeah right..didn't think that through" Applejack mumbled
The group came onto the entrance of the forest before slowing down to a halt.
The dark forest seemed to loom over them, wanting to swallow them into it's winding branches and dark vegetation.
The very wind had a chill to it and the ground seemed hard and cracked.
The five ponies huddled together, slowly entering the forest.
"Remember girls, keep those smiles up and nothing can scare us" Chuckled Pinkie Pie in her usual manner
"Yes, I shall, try and remember that" Rarity said looking annoyed and slightly scared.
"Well Girls, the quicker we find the ingredients, the quicker Fluttershy gets back to normal" Twilight said, with a hint of determination in her voice.
So on they continued, tramping down the solemn,quiet path , deeper into the forest as the light began to fade.
The forest was shrouded in darkness as the group made their way to Zecora's hut.
Every creak and noise were amplified , causing the five ponies to become rather scared and unnerved.
The shadows seemed to grow, the deeper the group got into the everfree.
Twilight heard soft sobs coming from her right side and turned to see Rainbow Dash...crying...
"Dash, whats....don't cry , Fluttershy will get better, I promise" Twilight assured as she put her hoof around her friend.
The rest of the group moved closer to help ease Dash.
"It's ok dear, Fluttershy will be right as rain soon enough" Smiled Rarity
"Oooo, then we can have a party for Fluttershy after she is cured" Grinned Pinkie
"I know guys it's just...I grew up with Fluttershy, it hurt's to see her like this" Sobbed Dash as she hugged close to her friends, fighting back more tears.
"It's ok Dashy, we're a here ya" Applejack said as she also put her hoof around her cyan coloured friend.
The group walked together closely as they got closer to their destination.
The scenery changed a little bit as Zecora's hut came into view.
Somehow, the vegetation was brighter and seemed more...alive.
"Zecora, are you home!" Shouted out Twilight as she approached Zecora's door.
The door opened and Zecora the Zebra stood before them with her usual smirk.
"Oh, it is you Twilight, what do I owe for the pleasure of this visit at this time of night" Zecora asked
Zecora ushered the Purple pony into her hut as Twilight began to speak.
"It's our friend Fluttershy, she has become deathly ill. She has something called, Grey Night Fever.
We were sent here by the Doctor to find the ingredients for the cure" Twilight says as she hands the list to Zecora who frowned as she read the list
"Hmmm. These are rare, but I see that you do not care. Your friend is quite ill, and I shall help as much as you will" zecora said Smiling
Zecora trotted over to her bookshelf and takes down a small book with a dark brown cover and hands it to Twilight.
"Here you are my friend. In that book, you shall find all that you seek" Zecora said before sitting on her chair.
Twilight took the book and opened it to the index, she quickly found the four ingredients she needed and marked them before closing it and placing it in her saddlebag.
"Thank you Zecora, I owe you so much for this" Smiled Twilight
"No no dear, you and your friend owe me nothing. Now go, and save your dear friend" Smiled Zecora before taking a sip of her tea.
Twilight smiled and trotted out the door to her waiting friend.
They sat around on the ground, with their heads down and hooves around each other.
The site instantly made Twilight's smile fade.
"Girls... come on girls, we need to gather these ingredients, we can't let Fluttershy down" she said softly
The other ponies looked up and slowly rose to their hooves, still hugging close to each other.
They closely followed Twilight as she trotted past Zecora's hut, deeper into the forest.
Twilight opened the book after taking it from her saddlebag and opened to her first ingredient, Silent Tree Sap.
"Silent Tree's are located near swampy terrain and consist of small five metre tall tree's with yellow leaves.
They are called "Silent" Tree's since their stiff leaves don't sway in the wind. Their sap is known to have many medical uses" Twilight read, her snout in the book.
The group listened in intently.
"What kinda medical uses are we talkin about sugercube?" Asked a curios Applejack
"Hmm... it say's it's used in many different medical potions.
Most of them highly rare" Twilight said, in a matter-of-factly tone
"So...this is going to help Fluttershy right?" Asked a still mopping Dash
"Of course it will girls. Otherwise why would we be out here?" Said Rarity barely managing a smile
"Hey Pinkie, you seem quiet all of a sudden" Said Twilight looking over to a concentrating Pinkie
"Huh..oh yeah, sorry guys Im jsut planning the BIIIIG party we're going to have for Fluttershy when she is better" Smiled a bright Pinkie once again.
"There are going to be flowers and balloons and streamers and cupcakes..OH MY GOD...Cupcakes!!!" Shouted out Pinkie as she licked her lips
"Why did you have to make her talk" Moaned Dash as she rolled her eye's
"I ...seriously..don't know" Said Twilight as she facehooved while Pinkie continued rambling about food and party supplies.
The group continued deeper into the forest towards the general direction of the swamp. The shadows seemed to dance around them as they got closer.
The moon light barely filtered through the tree's, requiring Rarity and Twilight to use their horns to illuminate the path ahead.
Once again the vegetation looked dark and dead as they trotted along.
Pinkie had finally stopped as the swamp came into view.
Ahead lay a deep,dark,wet expanse of land that seemed to go on forever.
Littered with overhanging tree's and a few fireflies buzzing low to the ground.
"wow..."gasped Dash as she starred into the swamp
"We actually gotta go in there?" Asked Applejack joining in on the stare
"Yes, it seems that way..."Twilight said as she started moving forward
"Let's just hope we find this tree soon" She muttered
The group entered the swamp and instantly the water came up to their knee's.
Rarity shrieked every so often as she brushed past some plants or other...things, which elicited annoyed moans from the others.
"Umm...Twilight dear, how long exactly ...till we find this tree?" Asked Rarity Apprehensively
"I don't know. Just look out for yellow leaves, it's simple" Twilight muttered ,still in her thoughts
"Oh, oh ,oh... Over there!" Yelled out Pinkie, jumping up and down in the water, splashing the others.
Rarity shrieked and the others let out annoyed grunts...until they turned to see something yellow, shining in the distance.
"The tree!" Yelled Dash as she flew ahead of them towards the light.
"Finally, atleast something is going right" Muttered Twilight as she moved towards the tree as fast as possible
Chapter 3: Checklist For Hope
The tree stood at around the height the book indicated and glistened with yellow leaves.
It appeared to sparkle slightly, and just as the book predicted, the leaves were stiff as the bark, not rustling or moving at all.
The ponies stood around the tree gasping at the sheer beauty of such a thing, sitting in the lonely depths of a swamp in the middle of the Everfree, it was simply unheard of.
“Ok, let me just try and get some sap from the base of the tree, I’m not sure how much I need so I’ll just fit as much as I can in the container” Twilight said as she took out a small glass bottle from her saddlebag
She stuck her hood under an upturned piece of bark and gently stripped it off and watched as this dark green sap started to flow slightly out of the hole.
Twilight held the small bottle to where the sap was falling and collected as much as the tree had to offer, before placing the lid back on and putting it back into her saddlebag.
“Ooooh, these leaves would look absolutely stunning on my Spring range” Mentioned Rarity as she tried to pluck some leaves from the tree.
Several snapped off and she placed them in her own saddlebag amongst her other things.
“There just leaves Rarity” mumbled Dash , unimpressed by the tree
“Although it Is a mighty fine tree” Said applejack tapping her hoof against the tree, inspecting it.
“And it’s pretty” Grinned Pinkie as she danced around the tree, gleefully.
“Girls we have what we need, it’s time to find the next ingredient, we can’t leave Fluttershy waiting” Twilight reminded everypony.
The other’s stopped in their tracks after realising Twilight was correct and huddled around her as she took the book from her saddlebag out and opened to the page containing information about the next item, Black Tree Bark.
“It says that Black Tree’s are found to the east of the swamp, and are , well, obviously black. The bark is said to dilute the poisons in the Silent Tree Sap and enhance the healing properties” Twilight said, reading out of the book that Zecora had given her.
“Wait wait wait...the Silent Tree Sap is...poison?!” Said Rainbow Dash Socked
“Apparently, but the black tree bark shavings are used to dilute it, so it should be safe” Twilight responded looking at Rainbow
“Still ,isn’t this risky sugercube?” Applejack said, with a tone of caution.
“Well of course, but we need to do this...for Fluttershy” Twilight said, looking at the group with serious eye’s
“So shall we push on?” inquired Rarity
“Of course. Let’s go girls, we can do this” Twilight said with a slight smile as she and the group started trotting deeper into the forest.
The night had completely fallen upon the forest and not a single ounce of light was shining into this part of the everfree, only the illumination from Twilight and Rarities horns allowed the group to see ahead of them.
The group looked around at the curious plant life that had grown in such darkness and gasps could be heard as they stumbled across increasingly odd sights.
One particular plant caused the group to stop.
It appeared to look like a rose, only its petals had a deep shine to them, slightly illuminating the area around it.
It was singular and by itself, sitting amongst rather nasty thorny bushes on a ground as cold and hard as a Griffons talon.
Rainbow Dash bent down and plucked the flower, placing it gently in her saddlebag, much to the surprise of the rest of the group.
“Fluttershy would like this....” She said looking at them with sad eyes verging on tears.
The group completely understood and were touched deeply by this show of emotion by Dash, usually known as the tough, boastful pony.
They continued along, deeper into the forest, searching for a tree, black as the darkness itself.
“So where exactly are we suppose....” Rarity was stopped as she bumped into Pinkie who was standing completely still, almost like stone
“Pinkie do you min...oh...” Rarity cut herself off as she looked ahead at a solemn tree, covered in a deeply black bark that appeared to smother it.
“So ah, how are we suppose ta get the bark shavings” Said Applejack, coking her said to one side examining this weird looking tree.
“Simple actually, just watch” Twilight said as she approached the tree, pulling out another bottle and a small knife.
She proceeded to run the knife along the bark, shaving pieces of it off and landing into the bottle.
She continued this until she had around thirteen or fourteen long shavings in her little bottle, before placing the knife and bottle, now sealed, back into her saddlebag.
“So that’s it?” Asked Rainbow Dash with a questioning look
“Don’t need any more bark or anything?” She asked again
“Doesn’t look like it, I think it’s just the other two ingredients now, before we..” Twilight was cut off by a loud and bone shaking howl.
The howl seemed to surround them in a sound that caused many of the 5 ponies to whimper.
“Was that,a....ah...Timberwolf” Asked Applejack, as Rarity held onto her with her hooves.
“I..I..think so” Replied Twilight, shaking slightly
“Come on girls we need to move incase...well...we just need to move” She said as she pulled out the book to look for the third ingredient.
“Ok, we need to find three Green Turtle flowers. They look like your average daisy, but a bright green colour with hard petals” Twilight said as she read down the page
“They usually grow somewhere towards the entrance to the....to the everfree” Twilight sighed as she read that part.
“So why didn’t we get those earlier” Said Applejack with an annoyed moan
“Well, I don’t know, we were too focused. Look, it don’t matter now, let’s just get these flowers and return to Fluttershy as quick as possible, agreed?”
The ponies quickly agreed and started back on their journey towards the entrance of the everfree once again.